Extremely High Risk of Heart Disease

[Cattenberg]

I’ve been overweight for most of my 20s and 30s, but my BMI has never put me in the obese category. It’s currently 28. However, most of my weight gain on my abdomen. I’m very short, yet my waist measurement is around 37 inches. I’ve read that this puts me at an “extremely high risk” of heart disease and diabetes.

I’ve made a GP phone appointment to discuss this, but it’s not until late next week. I know I need to lose weight, but I’m worried that I’ve already done myself permanent damage. If you’ve been in the same situation and had a health check, how did it go for you?

I don't think you have done yourself permanent damage, and there is even some debate that 27.5/28 is a 'normal' (ie healthy) BMI for some people (depending on build)

However, carrying weight on abdomen is more of a health risk vs eg thighs/bum. You will quickly improve your health status by losing a few pounds, and reduce your risk

My waist was 39 bloody inches when I started to lose weight . My bmi was a little less than you but same ball park.

It's now 31 inches and I've lost around 2 stone. I found that weight came off my waist fairly quickly although I had to lose a bit more than I'd planned to get down to the "magic" 31.5 figure that they quote.

I'm also very short waisted so I don't think if I lost more weight my waist would really get any smaller - there's literally a couple of fingers worth of space between the top of my hip bones and my lower ribs.

Still, there's no doubt that I was carrying unhealthy fat around my abdomen and I'm better off without it.

It's unhealthy in the medium to long term - not an immediate risk to you right this second - as it indicates that you probably have a lot of abdominal fat.

Re: health check sorry, I had high blood pressure as well as a big waist - losing the weight fixed both.

That’s reassuring. I know I need to lose the weight, and if this doesn’t motivate me, nothing will.